Fort White is a town in southern Columbia County, Florida, in the spring-fed river country of North Florida, part of the Lake City micropolitan area. Its name comes from a military fort built in 1836 during the Second Seminole War to protect the Cow Creek settlement, and when the Seminole Wars ended, the outpost transitioned into a civilian community, incorporating in 1870. That frontier origin still shapes the town's identity, and its early school campus is preserved as a historic district. The town's modern story is tied to water. Fort White is the closest town to Ichetucknee Springs State Park, whose crystal-clear, spring-fed river — designated a National Natural Landmark in 1972 — is one of Florida's premier tubing and paddling destinations. The Santa Fe River runs nearby, adding another spring-fed waterway, and the Fort White Wildlife and Environmental Area protects hardwood forest along the river and expansive longleaf pine sandhills, with miles of marked trails. Fort White's population is about 620, and it is served by the Columbia County School District, with both an elementary school and a high school in town. That local school presence, combined with the surrounding woods and rivers, gives the town a self-contained, nature-centered character. Lake City lies to the north for larger services, while Gainesville and the University of Florida are within a broader drive. Fort White suits people who want to live in North Florida's spring country — near the Ichetucknee and Santa Fe rivers, surrounded by sandhill and river-bottom forest — in a small town with its own schools and a genuine frontier history.